Chesterfield Borough Council defends decision to 'change locks' at community centres

Chesterfield Borough Council has been criticised for being ‘heavy handed’ and ‘wasting public money’ by carrying out the measure at its five community rest rooms.

However, Town Hall bosses say they have acted ‘in line with Government guidance’ and it is not possible to keep the rooms open in a ‘Covid-secure’ way.

Councillor Mick Bagshaw, member for Hollingwood, Inkersall and Duckmanton, said it was clear the council did not trust the keyholders to follow the rules.

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"These keyholders are either high regarded community volunteers, elderly or both,” Coun Bagshaw said.

"They volunteer to run committees to keep these establishments running on behalf of the council, paying utility bills, opening and closing the premises after each and every group which rents them out.”

He said people in the communities need access to take meter readings, carry out safety checks and in case of any damage or vandalism.

"They save the council a lot of money and I for one am grateful to them for going above and beyond what is their role,” he added.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, agreed the keyholders ‘do a fantastic job looking after the borough’s community rest rooms in normal circumstances’.

“We decided to close the five community rest rooms in line with Government guidance in March 2020,” she said.

"In October council officers inspected the rest rooms to assess whether they could be reopened in a Covid-secure way.

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"Due to the size of the rest rooms, the nature of their usage and the developing second wave of the pandemic, it was decided that they should remain closed.

“As the buildings would be closed for an extended period and to secure them from unauthorised access, it was felt best to change the locks on all five rest rooms.

“This decision has been communicated to the Management Committees for each of the rest rooms.

"A security key will be provided to the main keyholder for each rest room to be used in the case of emergencies.

"When we believe it is safe to reopen the rest rooms, we will provide keys to other nominated members of the management committees.”

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